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It's time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com. We were on with Ambar Garcia, Brian brought us, Patrick Walker and Derek Eagleton.
It is Thursday, December fourteenth, twenty twenty three, Season nineteen, episode number eighty eight. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break. We are live from the SWBC Mortgage studios at the Star and today we're going to be talking a little more about Cowboys versus Bills. Today we'll get into the Buffalo defense versus the Cowboys offense. Depending on how the show goes, we might have time to talk
a little bit about playoffs. We might get into that here at some point, and what all has to happen for Dowan Glint maybe maybe, And and really the big question i'ma have for you guys, and we're going to talk about either today or tomorrow, is the question is Philadelphia broken?
H Because I think that's gonna be interesting this weekend.
They got an interesting matchup where we're about to see if they really are broken with Seattle or is it just they had two tough games against two better teams and that's what we're seeing. But we'll talk about that maybe a little bit later in the show.
Let's start first.
I want to talk about some injuries. Malie Cooker did not practice yesterday with an ankle injury. There were lots of people that were listed on the injury report, but that's the one that stood out to me.
What do we know about Malik and his ankle?
Asked around about it, doesn't seem to be any concern with it. Sounds like it was a rest day for Milie Cooker, just as it was for all others. However, his was in fact injury related, so you couldn't list it as NI R on the injury report. So we'll see if that holds true today when n I are not you. Yeah, we'll see if that holds true today with a full practice being undergoing by all these guys,
and these guys should be returning. So if at three pm when the injury report pops up for Thursday, if Malie Cooker is still there and D and P I mean if he's limited, it still goes to rest and kind of making sure he's ready for Sunday. But if he's DNP again, then it would raise an eyebrow. But it doesn't seem like a lot of concern right now.
If they ever didn't have a game with if they ever had a game when Malie Cooker couldn't play, is it Janye Thomas the guy that would step in, who would step in that free safety.
The guy that has the best range, best coverability. Yeah, you probably put him on the back end. I think that would be the best plan of attack. That way, you can keep Wilson and then cursing those guys down low where they played better.
So yeah, I.
Think Thomas is a guy that you never I'd never shy away from putting him in coverage. Yeah, he's super competitive. He's got some corner skills to his game. You know, you would have to see if you know, how he sees the field and stuff like that. You know't ever want to get trapped back there, you know, going the wrong direction or making the wrong read. But man, the guys, you know, he plays as your personal protector on the
punt team. So the aptitude, the smarts, all those things are probably lined up for you right there.
Ye. Well, he's great. That's why I would drop back there.
I mean, he's got all the physical abilities, the quickness, the football IQ, the tackling ability and willingness to tackle. Obviously, what you'd be losing there over Malee Hooker is you have to wonder how more easily deceived he would be. One yea from a guy like Josh Allen and you know, a veteran offense for coordinator. But as far as skills setting football like Q concerned, je yay is there.
Yeah, it does concern you a little bit, Brian. Yes, so you mentioned this offense.
They'll try to fool you so well, so you get a little less experienced than that could put you in a compromise position in some instances.
All right, let's talk about a few guys from the Buffalo team.
There are four guys that were on their injury report that popped out to me, and I really want to get an idea of Obviously we are not there, so we don't know the extent of these injuries, but certainly from the standpoint of what it would mean if they don't have these four players. Uh, let's see what what what what do you think, Brian Uh defensive end AJ Panessa huge rib injury?
Huge?
Yeah, that's a big that would be a big problem because what's happened is von Miller's you know, playing less and less for them, and so now you've got Greg Russo at Oliver and Panessa in the way that he's playing. And yeah, he tried to play in the game, he got his ribs hurt in the Kansas City game, tried to come back into.
The game and then you didn't see him anymore the rest of the way.
That one sounds like in the podcast I did with the Buffalo guys and talking to some people outside of Buffalo, that would be a big, big loss for them.
How about a safety Micah Hyde with the next stinger.
Yeah, Micah Hyde's been doing with this now.
He had surgery on his neck in September of last year and it caused him to miss the whole season. It's had It's happened to him twice. It's very similar to what Leyton Vanderish deals with. And so uh, you know that's something that if he doesn't play in this uh in this game, and that his replacement that in that particular situation would be who.
Did I have down here that they had? Who did they move?
I'll get to it on my notes here, but but yeah, it's one of those things that that Oh it's Taylor Rapp, the veteran Taylor rap used to be at the Rams, and so Rapp would take his spot, but that would be a that would be a significant loss for him as well.
How about a cornerback Tarren Johnson with ankle?
Yeah, Tarren Johnson is that's their nickel and so but I've got a plan for how to attack Tarren Johnson in this game. I think even if he's playing, even if he's playing, I think this is where this is a guy that has problems with speed, and to me, now the matchup turns into how do you get Brandon Cooks in the slot more to have to deal with somebody that's dealing with an ankle, but also struggles with guys that can really really run. So that to me was a matchup that I was looking.
At right there.
And then tight end Dalton Kincaid rookie, that's.
A big play for them too. They've got the two ends.
Him and Dawson Knox are two really good players, and you know that with with Kinkaid, it's down the field that we mentioned, you know, how would you deal with I feel like that they're okay dealing with the Buffalo receivers. We'll see with Diggs and how they play him. These tight ends, though, are really capable players. Not I wouldn't call them great blockers, but.
I would call them those guys that try.
They try and create mismatches with athletic ability.
They are very reliable catching the football. They have huge catcher radius.
For both guys, so that that would be not having not having Kincaid would would be be significant for them.
All right, So let's jump in.
Let's talk about this Buffalo defense versus the Cowboys offense. I'll start with a big picture question. If you had to define one player on that defense that you would say is the most should be the most concerning for Dallas, who would that player be.
I'm gonna go with Leonard Floyd.
I think Lynn Floyd can be a game wrecker, and the Cowboys are familiar with him from having played him frequently over the course of his career.
You know, but when you talk about somebody who's.
Coming in with nine and a half sex, he's the heartbeat of that pass rush with the Buffalo Bills. And yes, von Miller contributes in a major way as well, so does up in necessary. I mean that they have contributors up there, but it feels like it goes as Leonard
Floyd goes. So if you can figure out a way, or not necessarily figure out a way, but if you can win your matchup against Leonard Floyd on that offensive line, then that's going to give you a huge leg up to helping to neutralize the pass rush and then from there you can try to attack that secondary.
Yeah, I would say that that Floyd makes a lot of sense. I worry about Greg Russo going against Terrence Steele in this football game. And you know that because the way that the way that Russo brushes you as a passer, he covers a lot of ground. His first two steps are like really long and all of a sudden now and the one thing that Steal has had over the problem is if guys.
Can get the corner on him, can he get over quick.
Enough to push that guy past, uh, the past the quarterback in the pocket and stuff. Uh you know his uh it's it's you know in the way he fights you too. The hand fighting, the way he gets kind of breaks guys down. I I do worry about that that matchup there. Ed Oliver would be a guy in defensive tackle that you should be concerned about. But the problem but the problem with that is that Ed Oliver
is going up against two of your better blockers. When you start to talk about Smith and then you talk about Martin, and you know, those are your two inside players right there. That and Oliver's leading the team and and pressures and and you know, and and he's really good at defending the run.
Uh.
Coming out of Houston, he was an undersized guy that was worried about how light he was. But he plays that three technique under tackle outside shoulder of the the guard and then he works his way up the field. But I feel like the Cowboys matchup pretty well dealing with him with the two guards russo uh.
And then as as you mentioned.
Floyd, that's a little bit different story, especially if they could they find ways to get them over on steal. Even though Steel's playing pretty well though, there's always that you worry about those those those those other moments.
Yeah, I wouldn't point out a specific player, but like you guys mentioned I think the d line as a group as a whole, they're really good with four man pressure, with rushing the passers. So I would say, if there's any area and Brian, you're about to break it all down. But if there isn't an area, it would be just the defensive line what they do all together.
Well, you're absolutely right, you know, that's their their whole thing, Their whole game plan is based on. They really rely on their four man front to carry the day because they're one of the best. They don't blitz a ton and you could watch and I went back and I watched, Okay, sort all the blitzes.
For me, there were five in a game, you know, and you're like going, oh wait, And as you.
Watch the Cowboys sort blitzes, there's you know, there's twenty seven blitzes that you know, and some teams are.
Really good at it.
But here's a team that could put a lot of pressure on you with the four man line, the third in the league in sacks, and that's what they do. They rush you with four and they have to rush you with four because if you look at their secondary, their secondary gives up a lot of space. When you watch them play zone coverage. There are a lot of open guys tight window throws. They're one of the worst in the league when it comes to tight window throws. You could see it on tape. You know Rashul Douglas
out there. We're all familiar with his game from Philadelphia. He's bounced around a couple of times. But if their four man rush doesn't get home or you pick up the blitzeres when they do, their secondary gets put into a world of hurt because they find ways to not cover the guys as tightly as they need to.
Yeah, it's interesting.
What jumped out to me is I noticed that they are four man team the vast majority of time, twenty fifth in the league, and blis percentage. They don't blitz very much at all. Here's an interesting thing. And you mentioned the sacks the third in sacks fifth and sacks percentage, so they're getting.
Home at a rate that's that's up there at the top of the league.
Here's the interesting part though, when you look at just their pressures, they're all the way down at fourteenth in the league as far as their pressure percentage when they're in a four man front, So it's almost like they don't always consistently get pressure, but when the efficient they get home, they get home, they make the sack. Does it also like it also suggests to me that maybe
they don't get consistent pressure enough. Is that what you're saying on tape, is that they're not consistently getting pressure, but when they do they get home.
Yeah, it is.
It's It's one of the things I watched, like the couple of games where the last two games where it's Philadelphia and then also then this Kansas City game, and when when they don't get home, like I said, it's a problem for them because their secondary just can't hold up long enough in the back end.
And so you you know, if you find a way to.
Block these guys and they've got they've got legitimate I mean, they've got legitimate pass rushing. It's very similar to what the Cowboys do with the way that they play their and you know, you get four man but you get four man games, you get the twists and get picks and all these things like that. So they know how to get those guys home. But when they don't, you do see completions, you know, And that's that's the thing. If Dallas goes into this game with the idea this
is going to be a game. In my opinion that the running backs of the Cowboys are going to be huge in this game. And I'll tell you why because the ability to be that extra blocker to help on the four man rush. But also though this team, when they do rush or they do blitz, which could be occasionally it's slot pressure or its secondary pressure, they use their linebackers and coverage is what they do. So now you're dealing with safety pressure or you're dealing with slot pressure.
So Tony Pollard and rico'doudle when they look they're usually keying off linebackers. Now you have to be ready for the pressure that comes on the outside of that. Okay, where's that safety walking up and coming from? Where's that
slot player? Because they'll run the safety over the top to cover a slot blitz and they'll try and catch it up much like when the Cowboys used to do it with Orlando Scandric Yeah, you know, like he would line up tight to the line and then all of a sudden come flying down and nobody would ever blocking. They try and do the same thing. But how Pollard and doubt will pick up actually help on four will be key in how they pick up extra any extra
blitz that they might see in this game. But they're gonna need to get pressure because the problems.
That they have.
It's not a secondary to me that it's like as bad as like what they've seen with the Giants and some of the others back in the past, but you see completions on them, and just because of the space that they give up.
It'll be interesting to see how the Cowboys attack the linebacker call, like you mentioned right, because of the twelve interceptions that the that the Bills have, five of those.
To their linebacker corl.
Yeah, their cornerbacks and their safety their safeties one or two, but their cornerbacks aren't good with taking the ball away. It's also a defense that you mentioned they play zone. They'd love to play zone. Almost eighty one percent of the time they're playing zone.
Now.
Of course you go back to week five and the team can try to flip that on you high forty nine ers, but Dak Prescott is playing at a different level right now as far as it really doesn't matter if you're going to do zone or man, he's going to attack it. But the reason they go to zone is because they don't have a lot of confidence Without Trey Devis White on the field, don't have a lot of confidence, so they give that space to try to
protect their guys. But in doing so, the Bill secondary is allowing one of the worst completion percentages in the entire league. It's over seventy percent, almost seventy one percent. So the play, yeah, so the players are going to be there, the catchers are going to be there to be made. And also of I think they're at twenty nine hundred yards allowed passing yards allowed, roughly fifteen hundred
of that is yack. So not only are you able to make passes and get catches against this secondary, but they'll give up the yards after the catch as well. And then you look at what Ceedee Lamb and Cooks and and Jake Ferguson can do in that capacity. I mean, it's a favorable match for the Cowboys if, like Brian said, you can stop that front four and if that means you have to you know, tast Tony Pollard and Rico Dalde with helping on the rare occasion they do blitz,
then do so. But yeah, there's lunch to be had for Dak Prescott all.
Right, smart, Yeah, they're small at linebacker, and that's why teams have had some success running the football at these guys a little bit. And that's what you kind of have to do with. This might be a game where Dallas tries to run the ball a little bit more.
Matt Mulano out for them.
That injury that he suffered in Week six just really crush this linebacker crew. He's really good at playing the pass and playing the run. And so they've struggled now with some of their size at linebacker and people have taken advantage of that. And by the way, I just got to report that Hooker should be available for this game, so don't worry about him.
Awesome, Great, all right, we're gonna take our first break.
When we come back, we'll talk a little bit more about some strategies maybe that we might see from Dallas offensively when it comes to taking advantage of the sees wide open targets, as well as the running game where they can maybe take advantag of the run. This run defense that may be a bit undersized. We'll talk about that when we come back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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All right, here we go.
Let's we're diving back into the Buffalo defense to kind of give it some context. We were talking about the wide open nature of what they give up in the passing game. They are seventh right now, and the most attempts allowed to wide open talks about twenty five percent of the time when you got to pass attempted against this defense, the receivers wide open.
Yeah, that's a lot, that's a quarter of the time. That's a ton.
And then when you think about the pass rushing and what they can can can really create some some challenges from the pass rushing standpoint, It makes me wonder if this is a game where we should see at least early a lot of the quick passing game just so you can get the ball out, because it looks like they're gonna have some open targets. There are opportunities for
you do, especially if you're scheming guys. My question is, is the quick passing game what we should expect to see much more than just their kind of the deep ball as much as this game?
Yeah, I would say so, I think that you want to you know, to me, they just they don't have the quality at corner that most teams have. And I mentioned Rashuel Douglas, Christian Benford. You know, he's a guy that's a second year player and you know he's kind of feeling his way right now.
They really just don't have that. They don't have anybody that could really shut anybody down.
I mentioned about Terran Johnson though, you know with the nickel he's he's struggled at times. So they just don't have that one guy that can walk over there and take your best guy. And so yeah, anything to anything to alleviate just you know, any type of pressure holding the ball against these guys, I think is a terrible idea, you know, just because eventually these guys, one of their three guys is going to win. You know that that's just the way that they that's the way they They're
able to rush the passer. But somehow, you we've talked about this full before. If you could block the front,
they blocked the front in Philadelphia and what happened. You have passing game involved, you know, so if you can handle pass rush with your players, then your receivers are much better than what these secondary guys are, So anything quick or you know, maybe even really normal passing game, because because if they're going to play a ton of zone on you, I mean, every every time I looked up and was watching them, you know, there was just so much space. So when the ball gets out, you
know that the things that affect is there. Like I say, their their pass rush can't affect you control that though you can make some plays against these guys. You've heard me say that.
Before when you talk about the pass rush.
Just to give people a perspective, this front four, would you say it is comparable to San Francisco? Would you say it's more like Philadelphia?
It's which one.
It's more like Philadelphia, but more like Philip more like Philadelphi, well different than Philip like Philadelphia with the edge, different from the inside players because ed Oliver can rush from the inside. I don't think Philadelphi mean Fletcher Cox and they got those big body guys and they just pushed the front. Ed Oliver's got some wiggle to his game.
He's got some quick maybe a bunch like what we've seen like with the when the rams with with Aaron Donald, that kind of you know, when you have that quick, three technique guy.
Yeah.
So yeah, So that's.
That's kind of where you're at with this team, because they've got a legitimate defensive tackle that can rush, and they've got two legitimate edges that can rush. So now you've got three guys that are involved. The other guy for them is more of a push guy. But you know, when you play Philadelphia, it's really two guys and big bodies trying to push in the middle.
There have been games here in the last thing, and you know, when we look at the like the pre the first five games this season and then the posts after that and how Dak's been playing, there have been some games where Dak has been on this stretch where he's playing phenomenal football, well, he's been under pressure.
And still been able to make it work.
So my question becomes like, is this really a problem for Dallas, because it seems like Dak is being able to operate even when he's under pressure. Although the offensive line has played pretty well in most of these weeks, even when he's under pressure, Dak still has a way of making plays, playing a.
Lot better with his feet, you know, and he understands where when things do break down, just immediately take off and run.
Don't try and hold.
The ball and you know, and and and make a play. Just take off running and play for the next down. Get your six, seven, eight, ten yards whatever you're gonna get, get down and go for it. So yeah, that to me, that's Dak is dealing with pressure just fine.
You know, Like I said, hopefully, hopefully the pressure is it to.
The point where it happens quick and now they're on him.
That kind of thing. That's that's what I would worry about writing this game.
I said, get like you said, Derek, I said, get the ball out quick, get your guys in rhythm. Lamb Cooks, Jake whomever else, trping Michael Gallup. Get those guys out and get them running early. Put the secondary on their heels, kind of help neutralize to pass Russ frustrate those front four pretty early. And you know, when you look at a guy like and we talk about uncommon opponent, but then you look at the roster and see who who are common opponents.
Within the roster.
Rasseuo Douglas, he's won from the time he spent with Philadelphia he was there from twenty seventeen through twenty nineteen. Seven times he's played against Dak Prescott, it's been awful. Yeah, he's had in those seven games one interception, one pass breakup.
That's it in seven outings.
So if you're Dak Prescott, you got to be looking your chops to say, okay, well, when we move ceed Lamb to the slot, that's Russello Douglas.
Douglas.
We're eating cooks in the slot, turping in the slot, we're eating So in that type of situation, it's all all the more reason for you to drop back, get the ball out quickly, and then I mean the big players are going to develop themselves. You just have to establish the rhythm early. Especially in a hostile environment like Ultra Park.
You mentioned that the running game has had some challenges, particularly because these linebackers are a little undersized. Is there a particular area of the defense where you've noticed their most vulnerable to the outside, to the inside. Yeah, like where if teams had a lot of success running the ball.
Dallas has done a good job and they've tried to run the ball in a lot of different ways. Now they're not just it's not outside zone stuff all the time. They've done the crack toss stuff. They've done it's just toss. They've run the jet sweeps. Those plays are all going to be good in my opinion. To me, I would
try and do things that are misdirection plays. You know, the Cowboys ran a double screen the other day, which you know tells me they're trying to affect to get guys to move, to get guys out of the way.
This linebacker crew, they're small and they want to run. They don't want.
To play toe to toe with you, because if they play toe to toe, they.
Get swallowed up.
So to me, if anything is how quickly you can secure down guys and then get guys up on the second level and effect there because Philadelphia was able to do that a couple of different times. Kansas City was able to do that couple different times. You get them going one way with the read and then all of a sudden, you get them to commit and now the
ball's coming back the other way. So Dallas, we've seen Dallas with their ability to play that way in the running game to be able to affect the lineberyer with flow, getting like the motions, quick motions to get the linebackers to step and then take the ball behind them. And that's the problem that because when these guys get hooked up, they don't get off blocks very well at that linebacker, especially that second level.
Let's flip over and talk a little bit more about this Cowboys offense. They have had their four lowest point totals this season when they've been on the road. That would be sixteen points at Arizona, ten points at San Francisco, twenty points at the Chargers, twenty three points at Philadelphia. Typically, I'm one that doesn't believe home versus road is really a big deal, but you look at stuff like that, and you look at how they're scoring at home, and
there's something there. Have you guys been able to identify anything you can point to where you say this may be the reason why Dallas is so much more effective at home offensively than what they are on the road better opponents.
I mean, if you're in.
Right, but the different let me ask you that.
So so then if you do that, then what's the difference between Philadelphia on the road versus Philadelphia at home? Because there's a big difference in how well Dallas played at home. We gets Philadelphia, then maybe how they play Dallas at home.
Is impossible to deal with. I just do I think that.
I think the conditions and I'm gonna be honest, I mean this the field, the conditions, the things that they deal with, they they just they.
Find a better rhythm playing offense, you know.
And maybe what happens too is you get on the road and now you're dealing with crowd noise, and now you're dealing with trying to communicate, and not everything gets you know, not everything gets taken care of, you know, like it needs to be. But against Arizona, they were really they were bad in the red zone. You know, they were just really bad.
In the red zone at this point.
Yes, I think I think they've gotten better at it.
I think they actually have gotten better at it because they've been more willing to use DAK if they have to.
But the receivers are doing a good job.
You get guys like guys Guy Turpin involved, you know, I mean, he's had a couple of catches down there, Ferguson making plays, Cooks making plays. You know, they've they've gotten guys, you know, Gallup had a touchdown the other day. They're getting guys involved in the scene. The schemes have been good, you know, the ways that they've been able to operate, the running backs running the ball better. So yeah, they I feel like they've gotten better in that red zone stuff.
And they have.
And to answer that question statistically, I was, you know, doing some science lab last night and it's it's up on the dot com right now, shameless plug. But one interest in that I came across was the red zone red zone efficiency for the Cowboys. Obviously a huge talking point over the first you know, charmester of the season,
even first portion of the second trimester. But as we have this conversation, Cowboys have scored inside the red zone seventy one percent of the time over the last three games. That's good enough for sixth best in the NIT. Now guess what they're going up against. The Buffalo Bills defense has allowed the opponent to score inside the red zone eighty eight percent of the time in the last three games.
Forty six completion percentage down there, yeah, forty six. Half the passes stone.
In the red zone are completely The Cowboys over the last three games have heated up in the red zone and the Bills are ice cold as far as stopping teams from scoring in the end zone.
That's the only challenges office really has found. Also, like they get moving and when they start moving, it's hard to stop them. But the red zone has been the issue in it.
That's wow, that's amazing.
Going to get better in the red zone.
That's one of the issues that they've definitely gotten better the red zone because I'm going back to the beginning of the season some of the things that we were talking are they were still moving the ball pretty well, and it's always when they hit the red zone, they just couldn't get in and get the touchdown. And I'm going back, I mean, the away games hasn't been that. I mean, yes, the losses have come from away games, but it hasn't.
Been that terrible.
You can go back to the game against Philly that was a very close game that it came down to inches that.
You didn't handle the nine situation.
Yeah, well yeah, but very close, could have possibly been a win for the Cowboys. Then you go to the forty nine ers, that's yes, yeah, we know, we know, we know.
Uh.
The when they play against the Giants, you completely dominated them, scored forty points, and then with Arizona you they were sleepwalking.
Yeah, that was my point.
My point, I guess that's the point of it is the four times this season when they've had the lowest points scored on offense, they've been on the road.
Yeah, they've had.
Some outliers, like the Giants game on the road where they scored a ton of points. But even I think we all came out of that game even saying offense that it wasn't really clicking. Yeah, you have some defense, Yeah, there was other things that were going on in that
game that that kind of made that score what it was. Now, again, a lot of that happened in the early part of the season, in which case, now we think the offense has made some changes and they're they're playing a much different level, did much different type of game, and they were playing back then, but the road was the road back then.
They they've improved on things that they've improved on when you start to talk about pre snap motions and things like that, and you know, it's just you know, every every every week it's gotten better and better. And to the point when you look at week five was kind of the water mark where we say, okay, things flipped from that point on that that their motion stuffs up
about eight percent. You know, I mean, they went from being one of the worst teams when it came to pre stap motion to at least middle to back respectable prestap motions. And you know, whether it's coming across or going out, you know, they're they're finding ways to set plays up with their motion and as long as they keep doing that, they'll be fine.
Yeah, I'll tell you this.
I really want to see very interesting to see what they do this week and what they do next week, because that will tell me a lot about their capabilities in the playoffs. Because if these if they continue to have lackluster offensive performances in these next two games, then you have to start saying it's something about the road that's different than at home. And the likelihood is, if all things play out as a lot of people expect them to, Dallas is going to have to go on
the road. They have to if they want to get to their ultimate their ultimate goal. So uh this, I think these two games will do a lot for telling us what we should expect from them in the playoffs based on how they handle these two road games. Are we gonna take our final break when we come back. Let's jump into the NFL NFC. Let's talk a little bit about some of those teams, and man, it's gotten crazy down there at the bottom of the NFC playoff race.
There are a lot of teams that are involved, including one New York Giants team that is making a push.
Would be all right, We'll be back to Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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Welcome back to the Final Segment break. I'm laughing at eight, he's not having pressure points. Final Segment Live from the s w BC Morga Studios at the Star. If you if you speak Spanish, then we may have a job for you day.
Because miss Garcio, you're gonna stop me. I'm gonna try it.
I'm wow.
But one thing I've learned about you is can you get in your head or.
He'll bring you back?
Man, always come back and can always.
Let things die down a six months and then he'll go, man, what are you doing? Hey right, you're thinking about doing an these shows.
Once you're on my team, You're always on my team.
You're never truly gonna let things just die down. Everybody forgets about you, and then all of a sudden show up. They're like, wait a minute, when do we bring Broadest?
You never get away, keeps drawing you back in. All right, let's talk about the NFC. Interesting here, man, it's gotten really interesting.
Let's first start with the Cowboys have an opportunity this weekend to clinch a playoff spot, which, let's be clear, the likelihood of Dallas clinch is a playoff spot is like ninety nine percent. They're going to clinch it at some point unless there's some sort of epic epic fail
on their part going down the stretch. But they can't clinch this weekend with a win, and there are fourteen other scenarios or thirteen other scenarios that could also allow the Cowboys to clinch if they should lose the game this weekend. So suffice to say, there's a pretty decent chance, depending on how you think the game is going to play out with the Bills, that's a good chance the Cowboys will be in the playoffs by the time we get to next Monday. That all being said, you look
at the standings right now. You got the top four teams that are clearly ahead of everyone else. You got San Francisco at ten and three, Dallas ten and three, Philadelphia ten and three, Detroit one game at nine and four. After they take a loss, they're starting to get a little wonky there.
I was really high on Detroit, but I'm.
Starting to wonder now, starting to wonder now, like was that fool's goal?
A little bit?
But we'll see.
But then you get down below that, and you're talking about Minnesota at seven and six, Tampa Bay at six and seven, Green Bay at six and seven, the Rams at six and seven, Seattle six and seven, Atlanta six and seven, New Orleans six and seven.
And then that's not enough.
You got the New York Giants at five and eight and Chicago at five and eight. Both those teams had a little bit of success, definitely in the last week the Giants and now are on a three game win streak, including the win last week that they got against the Packers, who are also a playoff contender.
So here's my question for you guys.
We know those top four teams, who are going to be the other three teams If you have to name three other teams that'll make the playoffs in the NFC out of Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Green Bay, the Rams, Seattle, Atlanta, New Orleans, New York Giants, and Chicago, who are you three.
A lot?
It's it's such a it's a muddy mess below that top four.
So let's say San fran Dallas. Who does Detroit take the NC North?
Yeah, I think the Ty.
And then number four let's just label the NFC South because ain't no telling.
Philadelphia, give me the Rams.
Give me the Rams in there at the Rams to me, are the team that they they've got, They've got their quarterback is I mean, they were at the Baltimore last week and they should have won that game.
Yep, they absolutely should have won that game.
And I think that Baltimore is one of the best teams in the league. And for the Rams to go all the way across the country play basically a one o'clock game over there, they showed up that used to be roadkill for teams that did that, go all the way across the country and play in one of those they the Rams played physical against a physical team.
I feel like I can't trust Seattle to beat Philadelphia. I want to believe. I want to believe that.
But Seattle, to me seems like they're even though they get all that skill at wide receiver and all that.
I just I don't know.
I mean, they need to they need to kind of figure things out on defense. But the Rams seem like the team them in Green Bay. I know Green Bay had a bad loss against the Giants, but I kind of feel like that they're still in the mix with I thought they had. I thought they had a shot to kind of get themselves ahead of Minnesota. I don't trust Minnesota. Minnesota's look at their quarterback situation every week and they're drawing it out of a out of a hat, you.
Know, Josh crazy that they've gone to this point that.
They've just I mean, they're trying to hang in there, but there's no consistency there.
The Rams of the team that you probably don't want to play.
You just don't want to play them because of how good Pukin Deakua and and the Cooper Cup the tight end, the quarterback they get.
Running back now Karen Williams, Yeah, I'm kind of glad.
Dallas played the Rams earlier then later, because that's a team I don't think you want to deal with.
I think the Rams are the last team to get in.
That's interesting because you Philly's five.
I don't trus San Francisco at the end, yea, what you do?
Yeah, I don't trust Minnesota.
I could see Green Bay kind of bouncing back from a loss that they should not have suffered against the Giants. Giants I was surgeon, so credit to the Giants and Tommy Cutlet's three game Winistrey, I do like the Rams. I'm torn between Rams and Seahawks because you know, you got the Rams and they're playing good football and McVeigh he's got those guys rolling. And Seattle contrarily, they're stumbling
right now, and that includes allowing forty one points. But you know it's too one of the highest scoring, if not right now, the high scoring offense in the league.
So take that for what it's worth.
I like that Seattle was competitive with Drew Locke in Santa Clara against San Francisco for the majority of that game.
That tells me they're not quitting.
So if they do get Gino Smith back, We've seen that Gino Smith in that offense with his quick release, they can put up some points. So I believe that that versus a Philadelphia secondary that has to visit Seattle, talk about home field advantage, twelfth man advantage and gene cross country right, cross country trip, Gino and that arsenal.
Right, what you guys are trying to do.
You know, and that arsenal against the secondary in Philadelphia that's basically toast. I think we can all admit that that secondary's toast. So I do like Seattle in this game against Philadelphia I'm not saying it'll be a blowout, but I like them more than I trusted a team like Minnesota. Hell more than I trust a green team like Green Bay. Right now, I do like the Rams do. I think the Rams are dangerous.
Seattle's perfect for Philadelphia. Seattle's perfect for Philadelphia.
Philadelphia's won ten games with the team at the end just gives it away.
You know, they've won all these.
Games where all of a sudden, you know they should they shouldn't win, but they shouldn't win, but the opponent falls apart at the end. What did Seattle do against Dallas? They fell apart at the end. You know, that's what they're gonna do. And so I I appreciate you guys talking about it this way, but I think the next two weeks, you look at the Rams. They've got the Commanders at home, and they got the Saints at home. They're about to be eight and seven with the Giants.
They go to the Giants and then that San Francisco. That San Francisco game might be important to them, and it might maybe it'll help you.
Yeah, maybe it'll help you.
Yeah, you know, because it'll be important to them to make sure that they get into.
This, and you got also remember division is still gonna be hard. The Vision's always hard.
Well you the Commanders.
Yeah, And my point is like, if you got the Rams playing their best football toward the end of the season, which I've been saying is for a few weeks. The reason why I like the Rams is because they're a veteran team. A lot of these guys were in the Super Bowl a few years ago. Like, this is a veteran team. They know what they're doing, they have a really good coach, they got really good schemes. I think that you look at it from that standpoint, if they get on a roll, they become very scary for a
lot of teams. Everybody in the NFC has to be worried, Like I don't necessarily to match up with that team if they're playing their best football at the end of the season. So yeah, I think the Rams are the team that the team out of all these teams that actually.
Could get in the playoffs and causeys, yeah.
That's that's that's like a six to seventh seed that could go and be one of those two or three. Absolutely because of the way they play. I'm talking myself into that, but seriously. I mean they had the Ravens on the ropes. Yeah, they had that game over and they you know, that had been a that's that's been four straight after the bye with the Commanders and the Saints on the horizon, You're looking at a five game heater right there.
Yeah, you know, is Philly broken?
Amber Hopes. I don't think they're broken.
I mean, they still have all those talented players in there. I think they just they're still hurting from them beat them against the forty nine ers. But I'm rooting for the Giants right now. You talk about the perfect time and crazy time for them to to start winning some games, and he hasn't been anything extravagant, extravagant. It hasn't been like that. But it's crazy because they're they're about to face the Eagles pretty soon twice to end the year
and maybe gives them some some troubles. But I don't think Phillies were it's broke. They're just hurting.
I would trade schedules with them right now.
Absolutely absolutely.
They went through that run.
They went through that run where they beat they beat Miami, they beat Buffalo. You know, I mean they're ten to three with now, they're gonna play I'd love to play Arizona again. You caught Arizona at the wrong time. You caught the Rams at the right time, Arizona at the wrong time. So but yeah, I to me, the Phillies capable scoring points. The problem they have is they can't stop anybody. That's their issue right now.
Yeah, they're beating, they're bloodied.
They're not broken. The offense is not broken. The secondary is broken.
Are you sure?
And that's really where I was gone when you say the second Well, but I'm saying when you say the offense isn't broken, like you go back to what Nick Bosa said, and since they've played that, like we will see this weekend if they have the horses to do it.
But he's like, we got the blood.
But it's what you just said.
If Seattle has the horses to do it, Cowboys and the forty nine Ers have the horses to execute the blueprint, Maybe Seattle does. We'll find out, but do the Giants. We'll have to find out. These are some of the lesser teams who are not of caliber of the Cowboys and the forty nine ers, but offensively, you know is Jalen Hurts in that offense, light and scoreboard up. Nope, Nope. They need to figure some things out. But they've shown that they can score points more often than struggling to
score points. So I don't think I think they'll figure that out. Offensively, however, they need to. But defensively, the defense, defensive line is what it is, which is great, but that secondary it is just it's it's lunch.
It's lunch.
It's time for the Eagles to say, Jalen Hurts, start running. Yeah, now, become a run.
It looks like they were trying to do that last week.
Yeah, he didn't do it enough.
He jumped out early.
You were to the point in the season now that we got to make sure that we win this division. You start running the ball, yeah, and do whatever it takes. Do whatever you have to do. We're not We're not keeping the bubble wrap on you anymore.
You run the ball, contrarily, New York Giants, whatever it takes, whatever it takes.
Quick update of just gotta update.
Malik Hooker is expected to be limited in practice today, so wrapped up from yesterday's work, D and P from the walkthrough. So he's turning toward Like Brian said, being available.
So all right, so well.
That's a wrap.
We'll be back tomorrow. We'll wrap this thing up. Let you know what we think is gonna happen this weekend for Patrick Walker, Brian brought to an Ambergarcia. I'm Derek Hiltson. This has been the Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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